Best Kept Secrets
by beaglelover719
Summary: There is something going on with JJ and Hotch and the team is full of speculations. AU JJ/Hotch pairing. Two-part. Brief appearance of the whole team. (I thought I was bad at Titles until I had to agonize over the Summary!)
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Not Mine

A/N – I love stories where JJ and Hotch have this secret life outside of the office that they manage to conceal from everyone. Probably because I imagine the characters go off together after every episode…. ;)

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JJ stared down at the stick in front of her in absolute amazement. They hadn't planned on this.

"Hey, you okay in there?"

Great. They must have sent Garcia in to check on her. "I'm fine." She tried to make her voice as normal as possible.

"You sure, Peaches?"

Hating herself for lying, JJ winced, and gave her a lame, yet feasible, excuse. "Yeah, I just have really bad cramps."

"Oh, poor baby. I have some Midol in my office, I could get you some."

"That's okay. I just took something." The lies continued to spill from her lips until she managed to convince her friend that all was right in the world.

"She look petrified. I've never seen cramps make a woman go stark white." Morgan argued.

"And you're an authority?" Rossi challenged, not having given Garcia's medical report or the fact that JJ left the office sick a second thought.

"Hey, I grew up in a house full of women." He frowned, and addressed the part that was really bothering him. "Besides, when is the last time that JJ took a sick day?"

"She did look peaked." Alex commented.

"I'm just saying, it's not cramps." He was so convinced that his desk mate was in trouble it was all he could do to stay seated. But he knew JJ wouldn't welcome the interference.

Rossi rolled his eyes. "Then what is your diagnosis, Dr. Morgan?"

"I think she's got a bun in the oven." He couldn't help but remember the blonde's behavior the last time she found herself in the family way.

"She's not even dating, Derek." Garcia protested, not happy that they were discussing her friend when she wasn't there to defend herself but none the less, just a wee bit curious herself. Because it was true, JJ was never sick. She was like a freak of nature.

"She wouldn't necessarily have to be dating someone." Reid commented, drawing shocked looks from the team. "I'm not implying anything, I'm just stating a fact."

Rossi nodded and rubbed his goatee. "True. She and Will are still friendly. Maybe there is a reconciliation in the works?"

That idea appealed to Garcia. "Ooh, you think so?"

The Italian shrugged. "It's been known to happen."

"What's been known to happen?" Hotch asked, joining the team in the bullpen.

"JJ and Will getting back together." Garcia stated happily. "And giving my little peanut a baby brother or sister."

Hotch looked around for JJ, noticing belatedly that she wasn't present. "What?" He croaked. "Where did you hear that?"

"They are only speculating." Alex stated, giving the entire team a warning glance before turning to Hotch with an explanation. "JJ left work early. She isn't feeling well and the team decided to _guess_ as to the reason why."

"She said cramps." Morgan said dryly. "I've worked with her for almost ten years, she's never had cramps before."

Hotch looked at the empty desk. "Well, it's a safe bet that she wouldn't appreciate any of you gossiping about her. If something is going on with JJ I'm sure she'll tell you when she's good and ready."

"Yeah, like when some whack job is bombing New York and her boyfriend shows up and announces it for her." Morgan groused.

"Maybe I should call her." Garcia mused.

"Maybe," Hotch growled, "We should let JJ be and all get back to work." He gave them all a pointed look then turned for the stairs.

Hotch closed his office door and reached for his phone in one movement. He blew out a breath. The team didn't _know_ anything. They were just making wild assumptions. He listened as the phone rang.

She answered on the first ring. "Hey. I'm sorry, I should have told you I wasn't feeling well."

"What's going on JJ?" Concern made his voice was sharper than he intended.

"I'm just wasn't feeling well. I decided to take some leave and come home."

"You'd tell me if something was wrong?" His voice softened. He knew something was wrong, she wouldn't just leave without telling him otherwise.

"Yes, but nothing is wrong, Aaron."

"Are you sure?" He heard the long sigh on the other end of the line. "You know you can tell me anything. Talk to me about anything."

Her voice was very soft when she finally answered, "I know."

He was fairly certain that she was crying and doing her best to disguise it. He didn't know why, but he was determined to find out. "Why don't I run to that deli you like and pick you up a cup of chicken noodle soup? You said yourself that never fails to make you feel better."

"No, thank you. I appreciate the offer but it's out of your way."

"It's not out of my way and it would make me feel better checking in on you and making sure for myself that you're okay." He told her softly.

"Aaron, if you were to leave the team would really be in a tizzy. I guarantee you they are already debating the cause of my early departure."

"Well right now speculation has you and Will reconciling." He growled, not liking repeating the supposition any more than he liked hearing it. "And I don't care. I told you months ago that I didn't understand why we had to treat this like a dirty little secret. I love you. I don't care who knows that."

She didn't try to hide the sob that escaped her lips. "How soon can you be here?"

He smiled, glad she gave in. "I'll be there as soon as I can."

"What do you mean he left for the day?" Rossi growled.

"He said he had some stuff to take care of and he left." Morgan shrugged. "He didn't volunteer any additional information and I didn't press him. He _is_ the boss."

"Well that's just – odd." Rossi huffed, looking at the darkened office of his colleague. "I mean, when is the last time Hotch ever took an afternoon off?"

"That's the point." Morgan scoffed. "I'd say he was long overdue."

Rossi's frown deepened. "I don't disagree with you but it's not like him. What was his demeanor when he left?"

Morgan put down the file he'd been working on and growled up at Rossi. "Dave, if you're so worried about Hotch why don't you just call him?"

"I'm not necessarily _worried_, I just think it's odd."

"Lots of odd stuff going on around here." Alex commented, offhandedly.

Rossi glanced at JJ's desk then back up to Hotch's office. "You don't think?" He let the question hang.

Alex chuckled. "No, I don't think anything other than the fact you and Derek tend to worry over your friends unnecessarily. They are both responsible adults."

It took Derek a minute to catch on to Rossi's unasked question. "What? You think JJ and Hotch? Nah. I mean don't get me wrong, but Hotch?"

"What about Hotch?" Garcia asked, having seen the gathering and wanting to be part of it.

"Rossi thinks JJ and Hotch are hooking up." Morgan cracked, making his opinion on the subject evident.

Garcia's eye's widened. "Really?"

"Never happen." Morgan stated emphatically.

"You seem pretty sure of yourself." Alex said.

"Don't get me wrong. Hotch is a great guy but he's not exactly JJ's type."

"Yeah, because tall, dark and delicious is so overrated." Garcia snorted. "I love you, but you are so off on this."

Derek narrowed his eyes. "What do you know, Baby Girl?"

"Oh I don't know anything." She was completely guileless. "I mean, nothing to support or refute your theory one way or the other, but I do know that Hotch is sweet and funny and kind. He's a great dad. He should be every woman's type."

"He is very attractive." Alex added. "He'd be a great catch."

"He has dimples." Reid commented, then shrugged when four sets of eyes swiveled to him. "Apparently a lot of women like them."

"He's wound way too tight." Morgan stated.

"He's focused." Garcia rebutted.

Morgan rolled his eyes. "He's a workaholic."

"It's called dedication." Garcia argued.

Rossi let out a loud whistle. "Okay folks, we might be getting off track." He needed to intervene before they were in the middle of another epic Garcia versus Morgan debate. They hadn't managed to solve any mysteries about the odd behavior of their two coworkers and he doubted they would. "Although I agree with you that Aaron is a lovely fellow, don't you think we'd know if there was something going on between them?" He let that sink in. "You know, Hotch probably just decided to do something special with Jack and JJ is probably genuinely sick. No story here."

JJ looked at the row of tests lined up on the back of the toilet. Each of them screaming 'dummy' in unity. She dropped her head. What was the likelihood of getting pregnant unexpectedly twice? They had been so careful. She would have laughed at the irony if she didn't feel like crying. During her marriage she had tried unsuccessfully for years to conceive. She heard the car pull into the drive and rushed from the room wiping at her cheeks to remove any tear trails.

She pulled open the door before Hotch even made it to the porch. She watched as he looked a silent inventory. "I'm fine." She smiled as he held a container of soup out to her. "I told you I didn't need soup."

"How about you let me worry about you for a minute?" He stepped close to her, his hand palming her face. His thumb gently rubbed her cheek. "Why don't you tell me what's going on?"

Her lip quivered slightly but she staunchly stated. "There's nothing to tell."

He gave a sad smile. "JJ, I can clearly see that something is bothering you."

She didn't deny it this time. "I just need to figure it out."

"You don't have to do that on your own you know. Whatever it is, whatever you need, I'm here for you."

She nodded, her eyes filling once again at his sincerity. "I know, and I'll tell you. I just need a minute to process it."

He reached for her hand, holding it softly. "I'm not trying to pressure you, Jay."

She moved into him, wrapping her arms around him. "You never do." She laid her head against his chest, letting his beating heart sooth her. "Maybe you should."

He dropped a kiss on the top of her head. "Maybe you should eat your soup while it's hot."

"Why do you even put up with me?" She questioned as she stepped out of his embrace and moved towards the kitchen.

"Eh, you're good in bed." He teased, knowing it would get a response from her or at least lighten the moment. He expected her to swat at him indignantly, he didn't expect for her to laugh, then dissolve into tears. "Okay, you need to tell me what's going on. Now." He demanded. "Are you sick?" He asked worriedly, framing her face, making her meet his eyes.

"It's nothing bad." She watched as he went white, obviously fearing the worst. "No, honestly, I promise you."

"Just tell me." He bit out, not happy with her avoidance any longer.

"Okay, let's sit down and talk." She moved back into the family room. "Oh," She said as she looked around the room. "Can you go and grab me my sweatshirt?" She rubbed her arms for affect. "I left it in the bathroom." He was already moving towards the stairs. She sank down in the couch drew a deep breath and waited for the discovery he was about to make.

Hotch took the stairs two at a time, his heart pounding furiously as he considered what could possibly be wrong. He raced into the room, eyes darting to and fro, searching for her elusive, stupid sweatshirt. He was just about to holler when he glanced back at the toilet. He reached for the door frame as he felt his knees begin to buckle. Steadying himself he moved over to see the assortment of positive signs lined up. Pregnant! She was pregnant! Derek would just love that. He laughed out loud, then sobered. They were pregnant.

JJ frowned as she waited for him to reappear. It'd been several minutes. She knew he had to have seen the multiple tests announcing that he was going to be a father again. She wasn't sure what kind of reaction he would have but the fact that it was taking him so long to come back down couldn't be good.

She rose from the couch and moved to the stairs when he suddenly appeared at the top of the staircase. She couldn't read his expression and stood frozen until he reached her. "Are you going to say something?" She finally asked, unable to keep quiet any longer.

He didn't speak as he pulled her to him and fused his mouth to hers, kissing her hungrily as his hands moved to rest on her slight stomach.

"I don't know how it happened." JJ said in wonder as they separated.

Hotch grinned. "I would be happy to give you a demonstration."

"Are you okay with this?" She asked worriedly.

"I'd be happy to show you how happy I am." He teased, as he pulled her to him once more. "I should throttle you for scaring the shit out of me."

"I'm sorry, I panicked. I stopped at Walgreens this morning to pick up a prescription and I passed an end cap with tampons and it dawned on me that I haven't had a period for a while. Then it occurred to me that I've been feeling kind of wonky. I've been irritable and tired, and then, I just knew." She looked at him in stunned wonder, still not quite able to believe it. "So anyway, I bought a test to take this evening but that lasted for about a minute."

He flashed back to the scene upstairs. "So what's with the other twenty you have in the bathroom?" Twenty was a slight exaggeration.

"After my freak out at work I wanted to be sure and I couldn't get in to the doctor's until Friday." It all seemed silly now but her immediate reaction had been terror. They were both very committed to the relationship but another child had not been in the plans.

"When were you planning on telling me?' There was a slight undertone of hurt in his voice that he wasn't able to disguise.

She leaned up and offered him a soothing kiss. "As soon as I wrapped my brain around it." Then she teasingly batted her lashes. "I mean, I wanted to tell you right away at the office but since you insisted on keeping this relationship secret it kind of added to my anxiety."

"You are so not funny." It had been their one and only argument. He had wanted to announce the change in their relationship to the world the minute it happened. She wanted to keep it to themselves. In the end he wanted to do whatever made her happy because she made him so happy.

"Well you're about to get your wish. Everyone is going to know." And boy weren't they in for a double whammy.

Hotch could sense the tension in her. "It's going to be okay." He pulled her over to the couch and sat down, pulling her on to his lap.

JJ rolled her eyes at his easy reassurance. "You're going to get in trouble, in case you've forgotten, I'm still your subordinate."

"So I get reprimanded, big deal." He shrugged.

JJ sighed. It was just like him to downplay the severity of the situation. "You could get fired, Aaron."

"They can fire me, I don't care. Everything that I've given them over the past twenty plus years? I'm not going to feel guilty about falling in love with another agent."

She smiled at his declaration. Then worried, "The team is going to be angry that we're keeping secrets again. I can already hear Garcia now." She laid her head on his shoulder.

"Please, once Garcia finds out your expecting no one will be hearing anything for days." He made a mental note to have earplugs at the ready when they told the team. "Just think, anyone that dares to say anything will have to face her wrath." Hotch grinned at her. "Actually this is perfect. Good plan, honey."

She rolled her eyes at his optimism. "I didn't exactly plan this."

He studied her for a moment, taking notice of her red rimmed eyes. "You asked me how I felt about this, but you never said how you felt. Are you okay with the idea of having a baby with an old guy like me?" He rested his hand on her slim stomach.

"I'm seventy five percent terrified and twenty five percent thrilled." She said honestly. "That's better than the ninety five – five I started at." She cupped his face. "Actually just looking at you brings it to fifty – fifty. I'm sure by the end of the day I'll be five – ninety five." She giggled at him. "You said I keep you young. I want you to remember that when it's your turn for a 2 a.m. feeding."

He grinned at her. "I can't wait."

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Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Not Mine

~~ Chapter Two ~~

"So JJ had an appointment and Hotch took half a day vacation?" Rossi asked. "No one else finds that suspicious?"

"Dude, he's your best friend." Morgan pointed out with a head shake. "And we all have appointments occasionally." He shrugged. "What's the big deal? Right now we're on stand down. It's fairly normal for all of us to take advantage of the time. Reid has a dental cleaning this afternoon." He glanced over at the younger man in question and narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Or so he says."

"Hotch was whistling this morning, _and_ he had a meeting with Matt." Rossi pointed out.

Morgan exchanged a look with Alex. "I hate to point out the obvious but he meets with Matt all the time. You know, since he does report to him and all."

"Yeah, but the whistling is suspect." Alex agreed, with a grin.

"Guys!" Garcia yelled, coming on to the floor. "Something is definitely going on. I just got an evite for a party at Hotch's for tomorrow."

Reid's head popped up. "Hey, yeah, me too."

Rossi immediately took his phone from its holster and checked his email. "Aaron Hotchner is having a BBQ? I don't even think he owns a grill."

"Maybe that's what he's doing this afternoon." Morgan quipped.

"I'm with Dave on this one." Garcia announced, waving the printed out invitation. "There is something hinkey going on."

"Maybe I should make something to take." Reid stated. "I enjoy barbeque. The weather is going to be perfect. This should be fun."

"Right there with you, Pretty Boy, but do me a favor and buy whatever you decide to bring. My stomach still ain't right from your last culinary attempt."

"This doesn't say why he's having a barbeque." Rossi stated, studying the invite.

"Do you really need a reason to grill meat and drink beer?" Morgan questioned. "Man, I hope JJ is coming and she brings her pasta salad." He looked at Alex. "You should make your famous potato salad." He rubbed his hand together in anticipation as he turned to Garcia. "And Mama, I don't care what you bake, you know I'll eat it." He winked at her as she tittered with glee.

"What are you going to bring, Derek?" Alex challenged.

He smiled wide. "My appetite."

Easily distracted, Garcia grinned. "Whew, I better go and figure out what I'm making for tomorrow." She sighed, happily. "I'm so excited, I love spending time with you guys outside of work. This was such a great idea. Yay, Boss Man."

Rossi watched as she sauntered off before spinning around and cursing in Italian as he headed to his own domain.

"I hope that means see you tomorrow." Morgan cracked.

Alex laughed as Rossi's string of lyrical language carried him up to his office. She turned to Morgan. "You don't think it's odd that Hotch is all of a sudden having a team barbeque?"

He chuckled. "Of course it is." He laughed when Rossi's door slammed shut. "I just can't resist pulling his chain. Listen, whatever is going on we'll find out tomorrow."

"Any guesses?"

"Nope." He sent a wink her way. "I'm a man that appreciates a good surprise every now and again."

Hotch looked over and watched as JJ unconsciously rubbed her stomach and blew out a breath. "Nervous?"

"A little." She admitted. "I keep picturing how they are going to react."

"Are you worried they are going to accuse you of sleeping your way to the top?" He wagged his brows at her as he pulled her into his arms.

"Yep, you guessed it, that's my biggest fear." She laughed, just like he expected.

Hotch kissed her lightly. "Well you might want to keep in mind the fact that they are profilers and they are going to be watching both of us very closely today. You keep rubbing my baby like you have been and they are going to know what's going on before we say anything." He laid his hand gently over where hers rested.

JJ's eyes went wide, she hadn't even been aware that she'd been doing it. "We're going to have a baby." The doctor had confirmed what the multiple home pregnancy tests told her the afternoon before.

"Yes we are." He murmured, their mouths meeting once again, this time with a burst of passion that always seemed to simmer for them. "We keep this up and we won't have to say anything." He teased, nibbling his way down her jaw to her neck.

"Keep that up and I won't care." JJ sighed contentedly, then groaned as the doorbell rang announcing the arrival of the first guest. "Can we pick this up later?"

He laughed as he cupped her face and gave her a quick kiss. "We will definitely finish this later." He assured her. "Ready?" He asked.

"As I'll ever be." She mumbled nervously as she headed back to the kitchen while Hotch moved towards the door.

Hotch grinned as he opened the door, knowing without a doubt who was on the other side. "Hey Dave, you're usually not so punctual."

"Yet I see I'm not the first one here." He nodded pointedly towards JJ's vehicle parked in the drive.

"JJ offered to help me set up. She is in the kitchen putting together her pasta salad." He stepped back to allow Dave to enter the house.

"So, this party was very last minute." His eyes roamed the room looking for something, anything out of place.

"It's something that I've wanted to do for a while. Things just kind of fell into place." Hotch responded, cryptically.

Rossi studied him closely. "I think you're up to something."

"Great," He clapped his hands together. "How do you feel about manning the grill?"

The older man narrowed his eyes. "You're not going to deny the charge?"

Hotch shrugged. "Would there be any point?" He asked, as the bell rang once more.

"I think I'll go and see JJ." Rossi announced as Hotch turned back to the front door.

"You know where the kitchen is." He called over his shoulder.

"This is nice." Garcia stated, lounging on a chaise. "We should do this more often. Kudos to you, Boss Man." She raised her glass of sangria in his direction.

"This is nice." Alex echoed. "I didn't realize you had such a nice setting." They were on Hotch's patio enjoying a beautiful day. The weather had indeed cooperated for the barbeque, perfectly sunny skies and mild temperature with no humidity. "This is a great yard. I would have never imagined you with a green thumb."

Hotch looked out at his perfectly landscaped yard. "We enjoy the space. It's a hobby you can share with the whole family. Jack loves to pick out plants and flowers."

"JJ's a big fan of horticulture too." Reid commented.

JJ nodded. "Yeah, I am. Henry loves to dig in the dirt." She grinned. "I wouldn't advise letting him use the hose though." Her eyes met Hotch's in a shared joke.

Hotch chuckled, making Dave ask curiously. "Where are the boys today? I expected them both to be here."

"They're…" JJ began, then stopped and looked back at Hotch.

"Jess is going to be bringing them home shortly." Hotch announced.

The team that had been lazily enjoying the afternoon snapped to attention. "You mean she is bringing Jack home shortly." Rossi corrected.

Hotch moved from the edge of the patio over to where JJ sat at the table. He laid a hand on her shoulder. "Jack and Henry."

"I'll be damned." The smile on Morgan's face exploded.

"What do you mean?" Garcia demanded of Hotch before turning to JJ. "What does he mean?"

JJ looked at all of the faces staring at her expectantly. "Well, Henry lives here too."

"As does JJ." Hotch said, his grin rivaling Morgan's.

"You sneaky bastard. I knew that something was going on!" Rossi looked at the identical expressions of joy on his friends' faces. "Why the secrecy?"

"JJ thought it was hotter." Hotch deadpanned, enjoying the blush that crept up her cheeks. Then he sighed. "Honestly, at first I think it was just because it took us both by surprise." He smiled, as JJ's hand covered his.

JJ picked up the narrative. "In the beginning I kept waiting for someone to notice and call us out on it. I thought the way we felt about one another must be obvious. But no one did. Then as time went on it was just so special that I wanted to keep it to ourselves. We had this intimate little bubble and I didn't want anyone bursting it." JJ looked directly at Hotch while she spoke.

"Beginning, as time went by," Alex mused, "Exactly how long has this been going on?"

"We've been living together for almost eight months." JJ announced, intertwining their hands."

"Eight months!" Garcia growled. "I picked you up at your house three weeks ago to go shopping."

JJ winced at being confronted with the lie. "Well technically it used to be my house."

"That's incredible." Reid stated, thoroughly amused by the whole situation. "No one knew." He shook his head. "I certainly didn't suspect anything." He looked over at Morgan. "So much for your theory regarding JJ and Will." He scoffed.

"Hey, I didn't say anything about Will." He looked pointedly at Garcia.

"Yeah, you said no way to a JJ and Hotch hook up because Hotch was wound too tight." She looked guiltily at Hotch. "Just so you know Alex, Reid, and I all thought it was entirely possible."

JJ laughed. "Wait, so you're saying you did suspect something?"

Morgan sneered. "Nah, I thought you were knocked up, but since you weren't dating we were brainstorming about who the baby daddy might be," He suddenly paused, then looked incredulously at Hotch, "And then Hotch told us to get back to work and mind our own."

Now everyone was staring at Hotch speculatively.

Rossi looked from a glowing JJ to a positively gleaming Hotch. "Son of a gun. I think I need a seat." But rather than sitting down, he walked over to Hotch and enveloped him in a hug before bending to kiss JJ on both cheeks.

"Are you for real?" Morgan asked, laughingly, following suit and clasping Hotch in a one armed hug, then giving JJ a smacking kiss directly on her mouth.

Then, much like Hotch predicted would happen, Garcia erupted and no other sound could be heard for several minutes. "This is so wonderful. I can't believe this. I can't even be mad at you two for keeping it a secret for so long!"

Hotch looked down at JJ slyly and mouthed, "Told you."

"You don't have any other secrets you're keeping from us do you?" Garcia asked as they sat on the patio watching the boys playing soccer in the back yard with Reid and Morgan while the sun began to set. "You're not secretly married are you?"

JJ looked at Hotch, standing over with Rossi, laughing as they watched the game. "He hasn't asked me."

Garcia turned to look at her friend incredulously. "I heard that tone. You _want_ him to ask you."

JJ shrugged but didn't deny the charge. "We talked about it once but I let him know that I wasn't interested in marriage again."

"People change their minds all the time Jayje."

"Yeah, I know."

Garcia watched as her friend frowned. Then she suggested, "You could always ask him you know."

JJ's head snapped around, a grin forming. "I could ask him." It was clear the idea had never entered her mind but now that it had it had certainly taken hold.

Garcia watched as JJ stood up and moved over to where Hotch stood cheering for the boys. She hurriedly stood and raced to follow JJ, instinctively knowing that something big was about to happen.

Hotch turned at the sound of steps racing towards him. He looked quizzically at JJ. "Is something wrong?"

"I've changed my mind." She blurted.

He raised a brow. "About?"

"Marriage." The two syllable word grabbed his attention. "Why haven't you asked me to marry you?"

A large smile covered his face. "I thought you said…"

She knew what he was going to say and cut him off. "I also said we needed to go slow and yet I've been living with you for months and now I'm carrying your child." She frowned up at him. "Don't you want to marry me?"

He smiled down at her. "Of course I do."

"Then why haven't you asked me?" She demanded.

"JJ, sweetheart, I hate to tell you this but we pretty much are married. Like you said, we live together and," He placed a hand on her slight stomach, "We're having a baby. I would marry you tomorrow if that's what you wanted. I thought by not pressuring you to marry me I was doing what you wanted. I told you from the start, whatever you want."

"Oh." She blinked up at him. "So you were just respecting my wishes and you really do want to marry me."

He chuckled lightly. "Yes, I do. Would you like me to get down on bended knee?"

"Wait, you can't propose without a ring." Garcia objected, reminding them that they had an audience.

"Actually Baby Girl, I think Jay is the one that needs to come up with the ring, she pretty much just proposed to Hotch." Morgan stated, having moved over to the patio as well when JJ, followed by Garcia, raced over to Hotch.

Reid grinned. "Well if she did, Hotch already said yes so I'm not sure he's all that worried about a ring."

"Oh please, I think it was pretty obvious that JJ was telling him that she wanted him to ask her." Alex stated. "She told him that she changed her mind. He just needs to propose to her so she can accept. I don't think a ring is even necessary."

"If Aaron Hotchner doesn't have a ring at the ready I'll eat my last novel." Rossi scoffed.

All eyes swung to Hotch. He looked over at his friend and laughed. "I have a signed copy in my office."

Dave clapped him on the back. "Is that also where you've been keeping the ring you've been holding on to for the right moment? Because this is the right moment, pal."

JJ looked from one man to the other. "Do you have a ring?" She asked Hotch.

Hotch reached for her hand. "What do you think?"

"How long?" She asked in awe.

"For a while." He winked at her, "I had faith that this day would come."

JJ chuckled. "Of course you did. Nothing ever ruffles you."

Hotch smiled down at her. "Ha. You do all the time. From the moment you spontaneously kissed me, to the discovery of your home pregnancy tests. Every moment spent with you makes me eagerly anticipate the next."

Her eyes filled with tears. "You should probably marry me then."

"I plan on it." He agreed with a laugh. "Give me a time and place and I'm there." He stated before pulling her into his embrace and kissing her for all he was worth.

Garcia nosily blew her nose and looked over at the team surrounding her. "Just so you all know, I have an excuse for missing this, I'm not a profiler."

The End. Thank you for reading!


End file.
